Author: Constance Meju

When elephants fight, the grass suffers. The long battle for control of the political turf between two giants, Nyesom Wike, former governor of the State, now Federal Capital Territory Minister, and the man he imposed on Rivers people as Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has unfortunately, turned out to be a misfortune for women. Rather than improve their incursion into elective spaces, the long drawn violence in the impasse has narrowed the doors letting in fewer women into the coming 2027 general elections than it was in the 2023 general elections. As politicians wait for INEC to unveil the final list of…

…community calls for release of tests conducted by NOSDRA, relief materials Oil and gas activities continue to leave trails of disaster in Niger Delta communities with government maintaining a blind eye as the people languish. Since November 2025, oil and gas rich Bille Kingdom has been experiencing fire outbreaks from gas sipping to the surface from underneath. The coastal community that is home to at least five oil operators, once known for calmness is gripped by anxiety and gas bubbles from literally every corner of the community, destroying water sources, ending livelihoods, threatening homes and lives. When a team of…

Two environmental rights organisations, Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative (PCCEI) and Lekeh Development Foundation (LDF), have called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an immediate environmental clean-up of Bille Community in Rivers State and other polluted communities across the Niger Delta. The groups made the demand in a position paper addressed to the President through Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, urging the Federal Government to tackle what they described as a worsening environmental and humanitarian crisis caused by recurring oil spills, gas leaks, gas flaring and decades of pollution in the oil-producing region. Copies of the document were also…

Local Government Councils have been charged to localize the National Gender Policy to galvanize grassroots development.Stakeholders at a one-day dialogue on Centering Gender for Development organized May 5, by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center in Uyo, made the call after a robust review of the state of gender inclusion in governance at the local level. Political and community leaders made up of councilors, community leaders, members of the Host Community Development Trusts, HCDTs, PWDs, women, youths and Civil Society members from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states, were part of the stakeholder engagement, put together according to…

….As Gwedo Trains 60 Gelegele Farmers Farmers have been encouraged to adopt organic fertilizer and pesticide practices as safer, healthier, and more sustainable approaches to farming.Facilitators at a one-day training for small holder farmers in Gelegele, Edo State, gave the advice while explaining the rationale for a practical training on the production of biofertilizers and biopesticides conducted by GWEDO in collaboration with Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF Tuesday, April 28. Cynthia Bulubiere Bright who, is also the Executive Director of Gbolekekro Women Empowerment and Development Organization, GWEDO, noted that organic fertilizer and pesticide not only improve crop productivity, but…

A Rivers-born environmental scientist, Dr. Suka Nomta, has announced what he describes as a breakthrough solution to oil-related environmental pollution, including the treatment of contaminated groundwater in the Niger Delta. Nomta disclosed the development during the Energy and Maritime Reporters (EMR) Roundtable programme on Rivers State Television (RSTV), noting that the innovation is the result of over 30 years of research. He described the solution as an organic-based nanotechnology designed to address persistent pollution challenges in oil-producing regions. According to him, pollution in the Niger Delta has severely impacted water bodies, ecosystems, infrastructure, and human health, despite various remediation efforts…

Renowned activist and elder statesman, Comrade Che Ibegwura, has charged stakeholders to entrench a culture of peacebuilding and intensify collective action to address the negative impacts of oil and gas operations, while strengthening the capacity of local communities to withstand climate-related challenges in Nigeria. Speaking at his Forest Garden residence in Abururu Etiti Community, Erema Town, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State, Ibegwura called for unity and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic origin. The nonagenarian, who recently marked his 93rd birthday, made the call while receiving leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who paid him a courtesy…

If the Nigerian government had embraced dialogue with Ken Saro-Wiwa over the Ogoni issue, the current explosion of demands for environmental and human rights justice across the Niger Delta would not have happened. This was the consensus at the 30th anniversary lecture organized by a collaboration of environmental civil society organizations and frontline Ogoni activists, who gathered at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, October 10 to honour the memory of a man they described as a fearless, selfless hero who defied all odds including his personal comfort, to challenge the excesses of the oil giant, Shell and marginalization by the…

Governments have been advised to adopt the cooperative system as a way of investing in women farmers to enhance food sustainability. A British female farmer and entrepreneur, Betty Fernandez gave the advice in a chat with National Point’s managing editor, Constance Meju at the recent conference for women farmers organized by Lekeh Development Foundation in Bori, Rivers State. The woman explained that being in a cooperative enhanced her productivity as a farmer and helped her finance the education of her four daughters. Said she: “Cooperatives are very important ways for small scale farmers to earn a livelihood because, everyone that’s…

…promises justice for the community Hopes were raised last week as Ogonis marked 30 years of the judicial murder of international environmentalist and ethnic nationality defender, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others by the Nigerian government. Following heart wrenching narration of the mindless massacre of the people of Umuechem by mobile police men drafted there by the Nigerian government in cahoots with Shell to silence a peaceful agitation for social amenities and the subsequent failure of the government to honour the recommendations of a panel of inquiry it set up over the sad incident, foremost human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN…